Voices from the Past - A Cell Phone Guided Tour

Who are these people?

All along the MKT Trail you will find wayside benches bearing the names of well-loved people from the Columbia area. While the fact that their families and friends sponsored these memorial benches tell us they are remembered, the stories behind the names are less-well known. Welcome to "Voices from the Past."

"Voices from the Past" is a project of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute in cooperation with the City of Columbia. The project is an experiment in connecting the public with recent history by using the ubiquitous cell phone.

As you walk the MKT Trail, take note of the many benches that provide rest stops for walkers, runners and cyclists. These benches were placed along the trail in memory of persons whose names are etched on them.

Behind each name is a story that the friends or families who sponsored the bench want to share with you. At the same time, RJI Fellow and Missouri School of Journalism Associate Professor Clyde Bentley was looking for ways to test the use of mobile phones to provide information to the public.

Three undergraduate students from the Journalism School - Ryan Huber, Rachel Moten and Jashin Lin - researched the lives of those memorialized on MKT Trail benches and interviewed their families and friends. They created audio feature stories for a selection of the benches and placed the recordings on the Guide by Cell computer system.

Special signed mark the benches that offer stories. To hear the story, call (573) 303-9003 and then push the number for story as indicated on the sign. You will hear the story of the person named on the bench, including recorded comments from family and friends.

While it is hoped that "Voices from the Past" is fun for you, it is also part of an important research project. Please help the researchers out by pressing 0# after the story, so that you can leave your comments about the project.